HSE Researchers to Develop BRICS Exchange System Together with Chinese Experts
HSE University International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre and the Competition Policy and Assessment Centre founded by the State Administration for Market Regulation of China signed a cooperation agreement. The parties agreed to come up with proposals for the development of exchange trade in goods and raw materials between Russia, China, and the BRICS countries.
‘This is the first such agreement between research institutes in Russia and China, aimed at developing competition and deepening collaboration on antimonopoly issues among the academic communities in our countries,’ says Alexey Ivanov, Director of the International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre.
Alexey Ivanov recalled that in 2022, in a series of documents adopted during the visit of President Vladimir Putin to China, the governments of the two countries signed a cooperation agreement in the field of antimonopoly law and competition policy. ‘It is symbolic that two years later, during Russia’s BRICS chairship, we concluded a memorandum of expert cooperation on competition protection with China's leading antimonopoly centre,’ notes Ivanov.
Experts from the Institute of Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, which signed a cooperation agreement with HSE University in August 2024, will also join the development of the BRICS exchange trading concept. In Russia, the BRICS Centre has already started working on this concept together with the Saint-Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange.
The agreement with Chinese partners calls for implementing joint scientific and practical programmes and conducting joint research on competition regulation in socially important markets such as the digital economy, the pharmaceutical industry, the automotive sector, and the global food market. It also involves the consideration and regulation of economic concentration transactions.
Alexey Ivanov highlights the great potential in developing Russian-Chinese exchange trade in goods and raw materials.
‘Trade in essential goods between Russia and China has been of crucial importance for centuries. In the 19th century, Russian tea was transported from China overland through Central China and the north-eastern part of Russia. Modern Chinese Wuhan was the starting point of the Great Tea Road. Thanks to the Treaty of Kyakhta, which led to the establishment of mutually beneficial relations, Russian tea factories were built in central China and Russian settlements emerged,’ Ivanov says. ‘This historical cooperation can be revived and strengthened by Russian and Chinese entrepreneurs working directly through modern exchange mechanisms. This will not only establish direct long-term relationships, but also reduce the prices of goods for end consumers by eliminating intermediary schemes. We need to develop a system of organisational, legal, and economic measures, as well as analyse the necessary conditions in order to create exchange platforms and promote exchange trading, inclusively within the BRICS framework.’
As part of the China International Forum on Fair Competition Policy, the BRICS Centre organised the BRICS Working Group for the Research of Competition Issues in Pharmaceutical Markets in Wuhan. The group’s meeting was held with the participation of Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service, which co-chairs the Working Group along with the State Administration for Market Regulation of the People's Republic of China (SAMR). It marked the next stage in the Centre’s international research project on a comparative analysis of regulations for introducing biotechnological products into the BRICS market, which was launched last year. The event was attended by representatives of the antimonopoly authorities of the BRICS countries, leaders of pharmaceutical companies in China and Russia, and experts from top BRICS universities.
In addition, employees of the BRICS Centre participated in an official bilateral meeting with Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) and SAMR. Meng Yang, Deputy Minister of the State Administration for Market Regulation of China, expressed the willingness of the Chinese antimonopoly regulator to strengthen cooperation in the BRICS format. At the end of the visit in China, a joint seminar on artificial intelligence regulation was held at Shanghai Jiao Tong University as part of the BRICS programme.
See also:
‘We Need Our Own AI Models Trained on Local Data’
The digitalisation of the economy and the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies pose new challenges for antitrust authorities worldwide. Major players in the AI market, equipped with significant resources, can block new entrants and set anti-competitive prices. Additionally, the use of AI raises increasingly complex ethical questions for which the global community has yet to develop answers. These and other issues were discussed at the Third BRICS+ Digital Competition Forum.
‘It Is Hard to Imagine High-Level Interpretation Being Entrusted to a Machine’
In 2024, Russia chairs BRICS, an international organisation comprising nine countries. Throughout the year, dozens of forums, working group meetings, and BRICS sessions took place across various Russian cities. As an interpreter, Ksenia Prosyukova, Associate Professor at the HSE School of Foreign Languages and Candidate of Science (PhD) in Pedagogy, participated in several BRICS events. In an interview, she discussed the personal responsibility of working at high-level events, the challenges and prospects of her profession, and how HSE University trains in-demand translators.
BRICS Representatives Discuss the Development of Statistics in Member Countries
The significance of statistics in today’s digital age has reached a new level. Many decisions at government and business levels are based on data analysis. However, there is a mixed perception of official statistics, which negatively affects trust in public policies. The heads of BRICS statistical agencies discussed this issue and ways to address it at a forum in Kazan, where a representative from HSE University also participated in the event.
‘Geographical Distance No Longer a Problem’: ISSEK Fosters Cooperation with Think Tanks in BRICS Countries
In September, the HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge hosted an international working meeting with representatives from Brazilian, Egyptian, and Indian think tanks. The participants discussed opportunities for cooperation, including joint surveys, comparative studies, databases, and publications on foresight, technology, and innovation. It was also decided to draft a multilateral agreement to establish the BRICS Foresight Association.
HSE Experts Take Part in the First International Workshop on Technological Sustainability of BRICS
On September 19–20, Skoltech hosted the First International Workshop on Technological Sustainability of BRICS: University-Industry Partnerships, organised jointly with HSE University Human Capital Multidisciplinary Research Center. The meeting was held as part of the BRICS working group on technology foresight and science and technology studies.
‘What Makes BRICS Effective Is Its Diversity’: HSE University Representatives Begin Work at EEF
HSE University Vice Rector Victoria Panova spoke at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF 2024) that began in Vladivostok. The topic of her speech was the expansion of BRICS.
'Staying Open to New Challenges and Opportunities Is Crucial'
The Tenth BRICS Youth Summit was held in Ulyanovsk from July 22 to 26. The event was attended by more than 200 early-career professionals from Brazil, India, China, Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Russian regions. Participants gathered to discuss current global issues and explore opportunities for youth collaboration. Students of HSE University who attended the Youth Summit shared their impressions with HSE University Life.
HSE University Launches Consortium of BRICS Law Schools
The HSE Faculty of Law hosted an online meeting with law schools and expert centres from BRICS countries. The purpose of the event was to join efforts to advance legal science and practice for the benefit of the organization. To this end, at the initiative of the Dean of the Faculty of Law Vadim Vinogradov, a Consortium of BRICS Law Schools was established, comprising representatives of leading higher education institutions from a number of countries.
‘At HSE University I Had the Opportunity to Meet the Best Academics’
In April 2024, HSE School of International Regional Studies of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs organised a round table ‘Russia and the Most Influential Countries of the Global South: Comparing Approaches to the New International Political and Economic-Financial Order’. Seyedmohammad Seyedi Asl, Research Fellow at the School of International Regional Studies, spoke to HSE News Service on his report ‘Global South, BRICS, and Iran's Foreign Policy’ presented at the round table, his research interests and impressions of working at HSE University, and living in Moscow.
‘We Work to Create a More Prosperous, Fair, and Safe World’
On July 3–4, 2024, the IX BRICS Civil Forum was held in Moscow for the first time since the association was expanded by five new countries in January 2024. Participants emphasised the importance of personal interaction between public figures, civil activists, as well as the work they do to strengthen and enrich friendly relations between BRICS countries, based on mutual respect. The forum was organised by the BRICS Expert Council–Russia, which is established at the HSE University.